Proposition: The Word of God is sufficient for every situation of life for God’s glory, and our godliness.
Key Verse: Matthew 4:4
But he [Jesus] answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God (Matthew 4:4).
God made us to be dependent on Him. We were not meant to go it alone. This is not an unusual truth. We are God’s creation. Is the pot independent of the Potter? We need God. And He has provided a Revelation of Himself and His workings among men. God has given us the Bible. In it we find the solution to EVERY situation. It gives wisdom for all mankind regardless of poverty or wealth. It gives guidance to all men whether in the first century or the twenty-first. No, I am not exaggerating. If you find a difficulty that is outside the scope of God’s power, then you have a puny God. My God, the Living God of the Bible is a Mighty God; He is the God of Omnipotence. Is there anything too hard for JEHOVAH? There is no temptation so great, that God’s mighty Word cannot stop it. There is no loss so deep that God’s still small voice cannot bring comfort to it. There is no trial so impossible, that God cannot turn it around for your good and His glory. We serve a Mighty God, and when He speaks the waves and the wind cease. Brothers, this is what I must tell you today: God’s Word is sufficient for every situation of life for God’s glory and our good, godliness, and sanctification.
Let me bring this into perspective. We are in a series called “Foundations of the Christian Faith.” I am endeavoring to teach the great doctrines of the Bible. The central purpose in all the Bible is GOD’S GLORY. The chief end of man is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever. In fulfilling this fundamental purpose, God makes His people to be like His Son. Who displays the glory of the Father most radiantly? The Son of God. Who does the Father delight in most of all? Behold my beloved Son, in Whom I am well pleased! Therefore we are made like Christ, but how? How does God sanctify the sons of men? We may answer this question with a number of Bible verses:
· Romans 10:17 Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the WORD OF GOD.
· Proverbs 30:5 Every WORD OF GOD is pure , He is a shield unto them that put their trust in Him.
· 2 Corinthians 3:18 But we all, with open face beholding as IN A GLASS the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.
It is the Glass, or Mirror of the WORD OF GOD that changes us to be like Christ. Therefore, my proposition to you this morning is this: The Word of God is sufficient for every situation in life—for God’s glory, and for our good. For God’s glory, because when we become like Christ through His Word, God is Most Glorified, and our highest good is achieved!!
Let us come to our text once again in Matthew chapter 4.
MATTHEW 4:1-4
Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil. 2 And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward an hungred. 3 And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread. 4 But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.
1. THE WORD OF GOD IS SUFFICIENT FOR EVERY MAN.
When we look for a panacea for every kind of problem for every kind of person, we find only One. The Bible is sufficient whether you are rich or poor; whether you have been saved 1 hour, 1 year, or 100 years! Man, that is every man, woman, and child, shall not live by bread alone, but by every Word of God. The Word of God is sufficient for you for whatever spiritual condition you are in today. Are you without Christ? You need the Word of God. Are you backslidden and in a terrible mess in your life? You need this Book! Are you hurting today? The Bible is the answer! Do you desire to be pure and clean in this dirty old world? The Bible will show you how to live godly in Christ Jesus. Are you a child? The Bible is so simple, I child can understand it. What did Paul say to Timothy?
· 2 Timothy 3:15 And that FROM A CHILD thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.
And what does the Word of God say?
· Psalm 19:7 The law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of the LORD is sure, MAKING WISE THE SIMPLE.
And again in Deuteronomy:
· Deuteronomy 6:6-7 And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: 7 And thou shalt teach them diligently unto THY CHILDREN, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.
The Word of God is sufficient for the child and for the scholar. It will make one of little earthly knowledge wise! What did the people say of the unlearned fisherman who followed Jesus?
· Acts 4:13 Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were UNLEARNED AND IGNORANT MEN, they marvelled; and they took knowledge of them, that THEY HAD BEEN WITH JESUS.
Wherever you find yourself today—God’s Word is sufficient for you. A believer of one hour can defend himself against the wicked one just as he needs to if he has that Sword of the Spirit. So we see that the Bible is sufficient for every man whatever state he is in.
But now we see a second truth.
2. THE WORD OF GOD IS SUFFICIENT FOR EVERY TEMPTATION OR SITUATION.
First we shall see:
The Word of God is sufficient for EVERY temptation because is was sufficient for Christ. In the context of our passage, we find that Satan tempts the Son of God. Here we have the most extreme situation of temptation. Christ put Himself in these dire circumstances to demonstrate the sufficiency of the Word of God. He had fasted 40 days and nights. Now there is hardly a man on earth that has ever been without food for this long and lived, but of the few that have, there is only one man that was tempted of Satan himself. And in this temptation, Jesus could have defeated the evil one in a number of ways.
Our Lord could have overcome Satan by a host of angels. He had only to say the word, and His Father would have sent Him twelve legions of mighty angels against whom the wicked one could not have stood for a single moment!! But Christ did not need angelic power.
He could have used his own Almighty Power that he used to create all the worlds. The power that brought the worlds into existence would have sent Lucifer fleeing. Yet Christ chose not to exercise the authority of the Godhead.
Christ might have defeated the tempter by unveiling his own glory. The brightness of the divine majesty was hidden within the humility of His manhood, and if he had lifted the veil for a moment the tempter would have been as confused as a bat that is thrown into sunlight. But Jesus decided still to conceal his excellent majesty, and only to defend himself with these words: “It is written.”
Christ could have defended Himself with logic. He could have broken down the argument with the greatest philosophy. There was not a greater mind that walked the earth. Satan gave three great propositions to be discussed, but the Lord answered him each time with the same three words: “It is written.”
Christ’s choice of defense was not power: neither angelic nor divine. It was not logic, though He could have showed in a moment the insanity of sin.
No, Christ had one method that was sufficient for every temptation: THE WORD OF GOD. He had only one argument to give Satan: It is written! Christ could have chosen anything He wanted to defend Himself., and he selected the very best weapon against temptation.
Why should we use carnal reasoning when we are faced with a hard situation? Why should we run to this expert and that expert? Oh, but you don’t understand my situation, you say. I need PROFESSIONAL help! That may be so, but that help will leave you in the same state you came unless they point you to the Word of God! If you are to overcome every temptation, you must arm yourself with the declarations of God.
· James 4:7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
So, we see the Word of God is sufficient because it is SUPERIOR. It is greater than reason, it is greater than psychology, it is greater than even angelic or divine power. It was sufficient for Christ in His greatest temptations.
Now, secondly we see, if the Word of God was sufficient for Christ in the most difficult temptations, then it is sufficient for US in every temptation.
Satan tempts in two ways: He uses DOUBT and DECEPTION. The wicked one came to Christ and said, “If!” This is Satan’s favorite word. Now what was Jesus’ answer? “It is written.” And that must be our answer each time. There is no other sufficient answer. The only answer Satan fears is that answer of the Word of God in Faith! My friends, the Word of God is sufficient for our temptation to doubt! Satan is the Prince of skeptics, and while all the skeptics of this world think of new religions of humanism and science to worship the wicked one, Satan, who believes and trembles at God, laughs in his sleeve.
Satan used doubt to attack the Sonship of Christ. This is his most hated truth. “If thou be the Son of God.” It is the Son of God Who has crushed the serpent’s head! It is the glorious Son of God who brings salvation. And Satan will tempt you in the same way.
He will say: now, IF you were a child of God, you would not think that thought. If you were justified and pardoned, you would not be the way you are. He will tell you that you are not really born again at all. He will make you to believe that you never were one of His elect, and that God never loved you.
My brother, if Satan can just once get you to think that the fact that Christ being the Saviour is based on what you see in yourself, then you will very soon be brought into great despair. I’m glad my brother, that your justification is not based on what you see in yourself, but is settled on the sure Word of God! The reason I am to believe in Jesus lies in Jesus and not in ME!
1 Timothy 1:15 This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief.
You must never say to yourself “I know I believe in Jesus because I feel happy,” because within a half an hour I may feel miserable. No I know that I have salvation in Christ because it is written “Believe on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved.” I believe that I am an elect child of God, not because of anything that is within me, never was my justification based on my standing, but only on Christ.
· Romans 8:33 Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God‘s elect? It is God that justifieth.
“He that believeth in him is not condemned,” “Verily, verily, I say unto you, he that believeth in me hath everlasting life.” Nothing can alter this truth. It stands, and must stand for ever. The earth will crumble before your justification can be overthrown by Satan!!!
Every doubt and deception must be met with the Word of God. The Word of God is the only thing sufficient to make the devil flee.
So we have seen that the Word of God is sufficient for every person, no matter what his situation, and it is sufficient for every temptation, problem, and trial. But finally, we shall see:
3. THE WORD OF GOD IS SUFFICIENT FOR GOD’S GLORY AND OUR GOOD.
The end of man is that he should live godly by the Word of God, that he should be free from the temptation of Satan through the Word of the Word of God, and that he should worship the Lord God and serve Him forever. These were exactly the answers that our Lord gave to the devil when He was tempted, and herein lies our purpose for living!
We must live godly by the Word of God. Our positive godliness will keep us from sin. It is said the Bible will keep you from sin, or sin will keep you from the Bible! The Word of God is sufficient for us to live godly in Christ Jesus. Some dear people here in Spain are converted, but they never come to the church services where the brethren in Christ meet. They say, well if we had big churches like in America, we would come. NO, my friends, the Word of God is sufficient for you to come. It is all you need to live godly. If you are the only one that comes to hear the preaching of the Word, so be it! The Word of God is sufficient to motivate you to come though you be the only one in your family that is saved. You may be the only Christian in your entire town, but the Word of God is sufficient to sustain you. When the attacks of Satan come and tell you that you are alone, you tell him that thou all forsake you, all you need to live is the Word of God!
We must secondly be free from the temptation of Satan and our own flesh through the Word of God.
· Proverbs 30:5 Every word of God is pure: he is a shield unto them that put their trust in him.
God’s word is the only shield you have. Take the shield of faith! It will defend you from the fiery doubts and deceptions of the evil one!
And finally, we must worship the Lord God and serve Him forever by the Word of God. This is our purpose in living! Why do we fall into sin? Why do we fall into vanity? It is because we are deceived as to our purpose! Is it to my purpose to be happy? No! Well, you say God wants me to be happy. Well, yes and no. He wants you to be happy in Him! He wants you to be satisfied with Him alone. He does not want you happy at all costs. What do I mean. Well, your purpose is to please God. Period. If you are doing so, you can be happy even if your flesh tells you otherwise. You may be in a deep despair. Your body will tell you to stay home from church and stay in bed and feel self pity for yourself! But your spirit tells you to get up and please God! And so instead of listening to temptation, we say, “It is written” I am not going to serve my emotions, but “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God, and Him only shalt thou serve!”
Conclusion
Brethren, God’s word is sufficient. It is sufficient for every person, old or young, rich or poor, sinner or saint, backslidden or godly. Where ever you are God’s Word is sufficient for you. What ever temptation you face, God’s Word is sufficient for you. No matter who you are, your good and God’s glory can be accomplished! Why?! BECAUSE GOD’S WORD IS SUFFICIENT!!!!!
